Canada’s Best Adventure Towns: Golden, British Columbia
Activities:
- hiking
- rock climbing
- mountaineering
- paragliding
- whitewater paddling
- canoeing
- mountain biking
- skiing
- fat biking
- ice climbing
Why Go? In a province rich in adventure-ready towns, Golden shakes to the top. It has it all and it’s all world-class. The roaring Kicking Horse River flows right through town before joining the Columbia River in a meandering wetland rich in wildlife. Both Glacier and Yoho national parks are less than an hour away with some of Canada’s best hikes and climbs. The town embraces mountain biking, with five trail networks. And that’s just scratching the surface.
Play: Anyone can find their passion here in the Rocky Mountain Trench between the Rockies and Purcells. In town, 100 km of single-track snakes around the valley, while more trails plunge off Mount 7 and Kicking Horse Mountain Resort. Mountaineers can test themselves on three of the “50 Classic Climbs in North America” in Rogers Pass and the nearby Bugaboos, as well as on hundreds of other summits within a day-trip of town. As for hiking, the options may be even more varied: head east into Yoho to tackle the Whaleback, a long alpine ramble; or, in Glacier National Park, ready your climbing quads for lofty Balu Pass; or ride KHMR’s gondola and scramble the ridge from the ski resort to Gorman Lake, a challenging all-day adventure. Cool off by raft or kayak in one of the many creeks and rivers, including several sections of the Kicking Horse or the nearby Blaeberry. Winter is just as busy and just as good. There’s the ski resort near town, world-class backcountry touring in Rogers Pass and the Rockies, all kinds of ice climbing and fat biking on the single-track network.
Stay: Crash in a yurt or your own tent at the sprawling Golden Eco Adventure Ranch, just south of Golden. The cozy log-cabin Kicking Horse River Lodge has one of the best views in town.
Eat: The Cedar House Restaurant & Chalet sits at the terminus of a 1,500-metre mountain bike descent—the perfect place to refuel. Funky Bacchus Books & Cafe is part art gallery, part bookstore and part coffee shop. In other words, everything we need for a recovery afternoon.
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